Shattered
by Foxdawn
Summary: A great enemy has risen against the four Clans by the lake, destroying their way of life. The cats' new laws and customs are hard and difficult for many cats, including Flutteringpaw and Havenpaw, two former members of WindClan. Dangers arise from friends, and secrets lurk in the most unexpected places. It is time for the reign of ShatteredClan.
1. Prologue

_The sharp, putrid scent of_ blood stung Flutteringkit's nose. She shivered and pressed herself closer to Shyskip's rain-soaked flank. The shadowy figures ahead barked and snapped, pressing the few remaining Clan cats against the stone walls of the ThunderClan camp.

 _StarClan save us!_ Flutteringkit cried silently, her eyes darting around nervously. The glinting yellow-green eyes of the foxes glared back through the rain, shining ominously in the night.

Two cats bolted forward, smashing into a young fox and throwing him off his paws. As the two cats circled him, Flutteringkit gasped nervously as she recognized the pale ginger pelt of her mother, Podflower. Beside Podflower stood the blue-grey pelt of Sloefin, a RiverClan warrior. Flutteringkit held her breath as the fox rose to his paws and growled, signaling to the other foxes.

Both Sloefin and Podflower disappeared under the writhing wave of foxes that descended upon them, barking angrily. Flutteringkit heard herself scream, a long eerie sound.

 _Please let Podflower be okay, please!_

"Get the kits out of here!" Froststar, the ShadowClan leader yowled.

Shyskip wrapped her tail around Flutteringkit, urging her forward.

"No!" Flutteringkit cried, pulling away from Shyskip in an attempt to reach Podflower through the mass of russet fur.

"We have to do what Froststar says! This is no place for kits. We have to try to keep the Clans alive!" Shyskip mewed softly but firmly, pulling Flutteringkit to her paws and nudging her forward. "Podflower will be fine. I promise."

Flutteringkit hesitated. She could easily see the reason in Shyskip's words, but she couldn't just leave Podflower, could she?

"I can't! Froststar may be a leader, but he's not _my_ leader. I'm a WindClan cat, not ShadowClan." Flutteringkit insisted recklessly. She leaped to her paws, but Shyskip grabbed her by the nape of her neck and dashed into a clutch of brambles.

"Put me down!" Flutteringkit screamed.

"Stop it. I'm doing what's best for you, Flutteringkit. I want you to be safe." Shyskip hissed firmly, setting Flutteringkit on the wet earth beneath the tangle of bracken. A moment later, Sunnypaw, a ThunderClan apprentice, slid into the bracken beside them, the squealing form of Havenkit swinging from her jaws.

"Where are we going to take the kits?" Sunnypaw asked, setting Havenkit down and leaning against Shyskip nervously. Flutteringkit scrambled forward to Havenkit, and pressed her head against her sister's flank.

"I haven't a clue. I think that Twolegplace would be the safest…" Shyskip trailed off, glancing around as the barking of foxes as screaming of cats increased to a deafening storm.

"I don't think we'll make it to Twolegplace before the foxes attack." Sunnypaw replied, jumping to her paws and sliding to the back of the thorny bramble patch. "We might make it if we stay here, but we'll have to be quiet."

Shyskip looked doubtful, but she nodded her head. "Okay. It's the best chance we have." Flutteringkit and Havenkit exchanged a nervous glance.

"We need to weave the brambles closer together, so that to foxes can't get in." Sunnypaw meowed, immediately taking charge.

Shyskip nodded, this time with more conviction, and worked her paws to weave the brambles closer together, making a thick, thorny wall.

"What can we do?" Havenkit asked, leaping to her paws.

 _We_ should _be helping Podflower right now._

"Just sit tight and be quiet." Shyskip whispered, moving to the front edge of the bracken and weaving the branches together.

"That's _it_?" Havenkit demanded, stomping her tiny forepaw against the earth. "We're expected to just _sit_ here?"

Flutteringkit shrugged, and turned away from the she-cats.

 _I'm going to find Podflower._

Flutteringkit peered between the branches and thorns, searching for a flash of red or a tuft of russet. She tasted the air, trying to pinpoint where the foxes might be hiding. All she could scent was rain, mud, and fear. Lots of fear.

She glanced over her shoulder, checking to see if Sunnypaw or Shyskip was watching. Both she-cats were busy with the bracken. Satisfied that she wouldn't be noticed, Flutteringkit squeezed out through the heap of bracken and tumbled into a wet rain puddle.

Shaking the water out of her ginger fur, Flutteringkit raced through the wind and rain, down the muddy slope to where the battle was. She could taste the tang of blood as she ran. It stung her throat and tongue, and she gagged.

The slope turned to muddy slush and rubbish, forcing Flutteringkit to slowly pick her way down to where the warriors of every Clan were facing off against the foxes. She paused for a moment, shivering nervously as a familiar scent touched her nose.

Up ahead was the mud-caked russet pelt of a fox. The fox flipped its head around and cast a glare in her direction, its brown eyes glowing yellow-green in the night. Shakily, the fox rose to its paws, growling. Flutteringkit took a tentative step back. The fox's fur was muddy and matted, with blood oozing from his shoulder and neck, pooling on the wet earth like tiny red streams.

One thing flashed through Flutteringkit's mind: _A wounded fox is an angry fox. And an angry fox, is a deadly fox._ These were words Podflower had once spoked after a patrol of WindClan warrior had slain a fox that had been caught in a trap on the edge of WindClan territory.

Without warning, the fox leaped forward, slamming its forepaw down on her chest, pinning her to the earth in a suffocating grip. She gasped desperately for air, struggling madly against his grip. She gasped in surprise as the fox's weight suddenly disappeared. Rising to her paws, her eyes widened as she spotted Shyskip rake her claws down the fox's flank.

The fox screamed and snapped at Shyskip's tail and paws, but the cream-furred she-cat was too fast. She leaped onto the fox's back, her sharp claws gripping his russet fur. The fox howled and threw the tabby warrior off, sending her sprawling in the mud.

"Shyskip!" Flutteringkit yowled, desperately willing her to rise to her paws.

 _I've almost for certain lost Podflower, I can't lose Shyskip too!_

Shyskip shakily climbed back to her paws, bracing herself for the fox's next attack. The fox snarled, shaking the mud and blood from his pelt as he staggered forward. Without warning, the fox flew at Shyskip, a blur of russet, fangs, and claws.

Shyskip lashed out at the fox, raking her mud-caked claws down the fox's wet black nose. The fox screamed, blood streaming from his face, and backed away, fleeing through the bracken.

"Shyskip! Shyskip! Are you alright?" Flutteringkit raced through the mud, her tiny paws slipping on the slick surface. "Shyskip?"

The cream-furred she-cat collapsed to the earth, her rain-and-blood-soaked flanks heaving. Wearily, she lifted her head and blinked slowly.

"Don't _ever_ do this to me again." She rasped. Flutteringkit dipped her head mournfully.

"I'm sorry, Shyskip. But I can't leave Podflower. I just _have_ to find her!" Flutteringkit mewed determinedly.

Shyskip closed her eyes for a moment, and whether for irritation or exhaustion Flutteringkit was never sure. "Okay." She breathed, struggling to mount her paws. "Let's go find Podflower."

Eyes shining, Flutteringkit helped Shyskip to her paws and the two trekked slowly down the mucky slope. Rain splashed and mud sloshed as the slowly neared the clearing where the main battle was taking place. From time to time they would spot a flash or russet or catch a scent of death, but no enemy perused them.

"Shyskip!" both she-cats whipped around to face who had spoken. Running down the slope to meet them was the shining, mud-streaked pelt of Jackdawspring, a WindClan warrior.

"Jackdawspring?" Flutteringkit meowed as the black tom descended upon them.

"I'm so glad that you are alright! Where's Havenkit?" He asked, catching sight of Flutteringkit.

"She's safe in the bramble thicket with Sunnypaw." Flutteringkit squeaked. "How did you find us?"

"Froststar wants every cat to gather in the ShadowClan camp. We've chased the foxes out of the Clan territory for now. He thinks we might survive! We could rebuild the Clans! We'll survive this storm!"

* * *

The rain had lifted to a light drizzle that clung in heavy drops to the cats' matted pelts. Flutteringkit walked by Shyskip's side, leaning gently against the limping tabby she-cat. Flutteringkit's tiny paws ached with each step, and her eyelids threatened to slam shut, trapping her in exhausted darkness.

"We're almost there." Shyskip meowed encouragingly. Flutteringkit glanced up at the tabby WindClan warrior, just noticing the oozing blood that ran down Shyskip's face and neck.

 _Yes! The Clans will survive, Shyskip will get her wounds treated, and I'll find Podflower!_

Jackdawspring trotted up to Shyskip's side, supporting her for the last stretch of the journey. Shyskip flashed Jackdawspring a grateful glance, then looked back down at her paws.

"Are you alright?" Flutteringkit sighed in relief as two warriors raced toward them, their pelts sleek and rain-soaked. Flutteringkit recognized Yarrowburr and Runningheart, two warriors from the other Clans. Runningheart took Jackdawspring's place at Shyskip's side, and Yarrowburr padded along beside Flutteringkit.

"Yes, we'll make it." Shyskip gasped softly, her flanks heaving.

Runningheart glanced at Yarrowburr. "Can you tall Larkfoot to be ready with the herbs? Then take Lappingwave with you and go find the kit and apprentice that we passed in the bramble thicket." She ordered. Yarrowburr sighed angrily, but streaked back to the ShadowClan camp.

"We're almost there." Runningheart assured Shyskip as the cream-furred she-cat stumbled and nearly fell.

"Is Podflower there?" Flutteringkit asked hopefully. Either Runningheart didn't hear, or didn't want to hear, because no answer was given.

 _She_ has _to be okay._ Flutteringkit thought stubbornly. _She has to._

Flutteringkit raced ahead to catch up to Shyskip and Runningheart, just as the two slipped into the ShadowClan camp. She followed nervously behind them, quickly scanning the gathered cats for the ginger tabby pelt of her mother.

Panic seized Flutteringkit. _Where is she? Podflower?_

She raced away from Shyskip's side and dashed through the crowd of cats.

 _I have to find Sloefin. He'll know where she is!_

"Sloefin!" Flutteringkit yowled as she spotted the RiverClan tom's blue-grey pelt. "Sloefin! Where is Podflower?"

Sloefin looked down at her with blank, empty eyes. "She's gone. The Clans will never be the same." He turned and disappeared through the gathered cats without another word.


	2. Allegiances

**Willowpool: Thank you so much for your review, it was very encouraging!**

 **Okay, recently, I reviewed Crow Feather's Challenge Book. They took it as a flame when I was only trying to help. So, Crow's Feather, I apologize for that review. I would've sent this to you via messaging, but you blocked me before I could explain. I know this probably is annoying you as well, but I could think of no other way to contact you. Once again, I apologize and I hope you are no longer angry with me.**

 **Anyway, I will accept all reviews. Please post any critique, corrections, thoughts, etc. I will accept all criticism, though please, _please, PLEASE_ , refrain from using any questionable language. If there is any language of this sort in a review, I will have to delete it and send you a warning. If you use language a second time when reviewing my stories, I will have to block you.**

* * *

 _ **~ALLEGIANCES~**_

 **Froststar's Camp:**

 **Leader:** Froststar- silvery white tom with blue-grey ear-tips and tail-tip

 **Members:**

Rookspeck- dark brown mottled tabby tom with dulling green eyes and black claws

Mistletree- brown-and-black tabby she-cat with deep green eyes

Runningheart- light brown tabby she-cat with a very pale blue-grey underbelly and paws

 _Apprentice, Archpaw_

Larkfoot- golden-brown she-cat with golden tabby stripes (Healer)

Jackdawspring- sleek black tom with dark blue eyes

 _Apprentice, Driftpaw_

Driftpaw- very dark grey-blue tom

Archpaw- white tom with very long legs

Molekit- grey-black tabby she-cat with a stumpy tail

Lowkit- golden-brown solid-colored tom

Kinkkit- pale grey she-cat

Vinekit- ginger-and-brown mottled tabby tom

* * *

 **Yarrowburr's Camp:**

 **Leader:** Yarrowburr- dark brown solid-colored she-cat with golden eyes

 _Apprentice, Houndpaw_

 **Members:**

Rubbletoe- very dark blue-grey tom

 _Apprentice, Mottlepaw_

Houndpaw- brown tabby she-cat with one black forepaw

Mottlepaw- tortoiseshell tom with grey-black speckles

* * *

 **Sloefin's Camp:**

 **Leader:** Sloefin- blue-grey tom

* * *

 **Sunnyflight's Camp:**

 **Leader:** Sunnyflight- pale golden-furred she-cat with a white underbelly

 _Apprentice, Flutteringpaw_

 **Members:**

Shyskip- pale cream-furred tabby she-cat

Risingwish- bright ginger tom

 _Apprentice, Havenpaw_

Havenpaw- golden-furred she-cat

Flutteringpaw- bright ginger-brown she-cat

* * *

 **Lappingwave's Camp:**

 **Leader:** Lappingwave- golden tom with blue-grey spots

 _Apprentice, Marshpaw_

 **Members:**

Pricklehare- tawny-brown tabby she-cat

Marshpaw- black tom with pale grey tabby stripes

* * *

 **Greencloud's Camp:**

 **Leader:** Greencloud- tortoiseshell she-cat with white spots and green eyes

* * *

 **So that's the allegiances. I hope you like a the names! (Oh, and the camps will make much more sense in the next chapter.) Don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile page!**


	3. Chapter One

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed! Also, I know that some of you are going to dislike my name choices because they are a little different and not very warriors-y. However, they are all canon! Aren't you proud of me? Every single name is canon! I checked the wonderful Warrior Cat Wiki, and chose names off their canon list. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

The rain dripped slowly from _the thick, roiling mass of endless black cloud cover, landing in splotchy, messy puddles in the ShadowClan camp. Watery mud and cakes of earth were plastered closely to nearly every cat's pelt, rolling off the coarse fur and splattering against the pebbly earth near the outside of the camp._

 _Flutteringkit pressed herself closely to her sister's side, desperately searching for the warmth from Havenkit's longing for it to seep through the soggy mess of matted fur and warm her very insides. Havenkit shivered, sending a shudder through Flutteringkit as she did. The tiny ginger she-cat's delicate paws were numb with cold, seemingly frozen to the cold, wet earth. A relentless, biting wind raked its claws across the ShadowClan camp, clawing against the survivors' pelts and ruffling their ragged pelts._

 _Despite the gnawing fangs of the breeze and the threatening storm overhead, Flutteringkit was trapped in her own silent world of night. No one could help her. No one could ever understand. Podflower was dead._

 _Over and over Sloefin's words repeated themselves in Flutteringkit's mind. Over and over. Like the buffeting, repetitive of the icy river water against its sandy banks. Over and over. Like the pounding, deafening rumble of hailstones beating against the earth._

She's gone...she's gone...gone...

 _Fury raged within the young she-cat, anger and fear bubbling up within her._ How could she be dead? _Flutteringkit demanded silently, raising her muzzle up to the stormy mass that surged above her._ Why, StarClan? Why have you done this to me? First my father, and now Podflower too? I can't take this, StarClan!

 _She lowered her head as a crack of thunder split the sky, jagged yellow-white lightening tearing a gaping hole in the sky that vanished moments later. Leaves and branches rattled against one another as a second, bitter wind slashed through her pelt, sending thistles of ice down her spine._

 _"We are all that remains of the Clans," Froststar called, leaping up to stand at the top of a huge, fallen pine that slanted through the ShadowClan camp, its needles and branched stabbing into the soil, seeming to re-root it in its unfortunate position. The ShadowClan leader's silver pelt flashed blinding white as another claw of lightening tore across the clouds._

 _"StarClan has provided, and the Clans will live on!" Froststar insisted, bracing himself as a fierce wind flecked with shard-like rain pulled at his pelt and ruffled his fur._

StarClan provided? We are less than half what we were two sunrises ago! _Flutteringkit growled silently, sliding out her tiny, thorn-sharp claws and digging them into the earth beneath her._

 _"We can survive! We can pull through!" Froststar's blood-crusted claws slid out and gripped the bark beneath his paws as a deafening roar of rushing wind howled in Flutteringkit's ears. "We will rebuild the Clans!"_

 _"With who as leader?" Flutteringkit strained to catch sight of the cat who had spoken, stretching her neck into the clawing breeze. The proud, tortoiseshell form of Greencloud, a RiverClan warrior, stepped onto a smooth stone that lay beneath the fallen pine. Her tail lashed in the air, her green eyes flashing sharply. "ThunderClan, RiverClan, and WindClan all lost their leaders in the battle, they were never able to appoint deputies."_

 _"I will lead, then." Froststar replied simply, bowing his head. "I am the only one who remains of those chosen to lead by StarClan. I will lead."_

 _"So you expect us to simply follow you and make a new ShadowClan while the rest of the Clans become a thing of the past? A forgotten memory?" This time, Flutteringkit recognized the voice of Jackdawspring as he leaped to his paws, tail quivering and hackles raised._

 _"What else can we do? There are not enough cats for us to separate into our own Clans again. We must unite as one." Froststar insisted, baring his yellow-white fangs and lashing his silver tail. Another clash of lightening rumbled, turning the sky a blinding white before fading once again to the sightless black._

 _"I will_ never _take orders from some ShadowClan flea-pelt!" Greencloud hissed, her own blackened claws showing themselves, and her mud-streaked tail lashing._

 _"We have to ask StarClan who will lead!" A lithe, golden-brown tabby she-cat called._

 _"No!" Sloefin's loud, authoritative yowl silenced every cat as he padded to stand at the base o the pine. Flutteringkit eyed him warily, raking her gaze over every whisker-length of his blue-grey pelt._

Its his fault. _She narrowed her eyes angrily._ Its his fault that Podflower is dead. He was there when she died. He is responsible.

 _"StarClan has abandoned us." Sloefin bowed his head as the sharp, icy began to fall faster, lighting on his fur, causing him to be speckled with tiny white flecks. "You speak of their providence, Froststar, but they have abandoned us to be destroyed by the foxes. StarClan has left us, so we must leave our old ways."_

 _"How are we supposed to live, then?" Sunnypaw asked. "The warrior code is all we've ever known."_

 _"We will form our own camps, choose our own leaders. No cat will be forced into following a code or a set of laws. This is our life. This is who we will be." Sloefin turned to leap onto the pine by Froststar's side, his blue-grey pelt silvery-white with flecks of snow._

* * *

"Flutteringpaw? Are you in there?" Bright, yellow-gold dawn light seeped into the dusty den through the moss and blades of grass that poked up from the earth at the opening to the den. Gnarled, twisted roots wove through the grass and slanted upward, forming the roof of the cramped den.

Flutteringpaw shifted in her nest, wrapping her tail more tightly around her and placing the tip on her tiny pink nose. _Why, Havenpaw? What are you doing?_ She groaned inwardly, squeezing her eyes shut even more tightly. Beautiful silence followed for a heartbeat before Havenpaw's voice once again shattered the silence.

"Flutteringpaw! Get _up_! It's way past dawn and Sunnyflight wants you!" Havenpaw's golden tabby head blocked the gentle sunlight that flowed into the den. Flutteringpaw scowled and rolled out of her nest just as her littermate pounced on the downy moss and leaves.

"Too slow?" Flutteringpaw curtly meowed, shooting a sly glance toward Havenpaw. Havenpaw rolled her eyes and pawed the scattered moss and leaves back into place.

"Good morning." Flutteringpaw glanced at Havenpaw as her sister sat back on her haunches, her tail splayed out behind her.

"Good _morning_?" Havenpaw squeaked in disbelief. "It's nearly sunhigh! Lazy slug."

Flutteringpaw's whiskers twitched. _I may have slept longer than normal, but there is no way that I slept until_ sunhigh.

The ginger apprentice rose to her paws and snaked her tail through the air, gently cuffing Havenpaw on the nose. "Well come on, then. Let's not keep them waiting."

Stepping lightly over her nest, Flutteringpaw slipped out of the den, the green-leaf sunlight washing over her pelt, sending warmth all throughout her body. She closed her eyes contentedly, flicking her ears as the sounds of the forest echoed through the clear, blue sky.

"Flutteringpaw! There you are!" Snapped out of her calm, Flutteringpaw's eyes flew opened and she spotted Risingwish leaping down of the moss-cover log that leaned gently against the Tallpine, the ancient tree used by generations of cats for Gatherings. But now, it was a hollow, broken skeleton of its former glory. It's branches claws at the sky in dark, thorny tendrils.

"Hi, Risingwish." Havenpaw meowed, leaped forward past Flutteringpaw to brush her pelt against her mentor's.

"Hello, Havenpaw, _Flutteringpaw_. Glad you finally decided to help out around here." Risingwish shot her a glare, and Flutteringpaw dipped her head.

"I'm sorry, Risingwish. I'll be up at dawn tomorrow." She promised. Havenpaw snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah right," the golden she-cat muttered under her breath, earning a glare of her own from Risingwish.

"Anyway, Sunnyflight and Shyskip wanted to speak with you, Flutteringpaw. And Havenpaw, go try to catch something for the fresh-kill pile." Risingwish ordered, flicking his tail in the direction he meant for Flutteringpaw to go in.

Flutteringpaw dipped her head a second time and dashed off to find her camp leader, swerving brambles and ferns as she went. She winced as tiny pebbles stabbed into her paws as she walked along the shore of their camp territory, the lapping waters of th lake less than a tail-length away.

She paused, staring into the water that lay calmly before her. _Oh Podflower. I wish you were here. I wish you could be standing by my side, kicking up these pebbles as we walked. I wish you could watch me train, and watch Sunnyflight's camp thrive. I wish...I wish..._

"Flutteringpaw!"

Flutteringpaw jumped, startled. She flashed her gaze around rapidly, in a wild attempt to spot the speaker.

"Yes, Sunnyflight?" She asked, finally settling her gaze on the familiar golden pelt of her mentor, suspended between the bright, fragrant green leaves of a maple that leaned gently against Tallpine.

Sunnyflight leaped gracefully down from the tree, her claws clicking as she landed on the stone beneath, a tail-length away from where Flutteringpaw stood. The pale cream tabby pelt of Shyskip followed, until the two she-cats stood together on the smooth stone.

"We were just scouting for a place to make camp, since that other tiny den will never work." Sunnyflight meowed, stepping forward to bump noses with her apprentice. "Would you like to help us scout around?"

Flutteringpaw nodded vigorously. _Putting me to use always helps...with...with the memories._ Determinedly, she pushed away all thoughts of Podflower and the battle and dug her claws into the earth, putting her mind completely on the fast before her.

 _So we need a den...but it can't be to small, lint the one we're using now. There needs to be much more room. Enough for our prey pile so our food doesn't het stolen by any of the other camps, or-worse yet-foxes. It also has to fit all five of us comfortably. Let's see..._

Flutteringpaw scanned the area, raking her gaze over every tiny pebble on the banks of the island. _Aha!_ Her gaze finally settled on a tiny opening at the base of Tallpine.

Pushing away brambles and ferns with her tail, Flutteringpaw opened her jaw to drink in the scent around the opening. The sharp, putrid scent of badger made her fur stand nervously on end. She circled the tree once, just to be sure the scent was stale.

"Shyskip! Sunnyflight! Over here!" Flutteringpaw squeezed into the hole, her claws scraping against the rough earth as she slipped and tumbled into the blackness. Flutteringpaw sneezed as the dust from her fall leapt up and stung her nostrils. Shivering, Flutteringpaw turned back to the place where she had fallen in. A thin, silver-gold ray of sunlight filtered in, tiny particles of dust dancing in its glow.

 _Podflower?_

Flutteringpaw could almost see the ginger form of her mother in the back of the dust hollow, her pelt streaked with dusty earth.

 _"Its okay, dear one."_ Podflower had murmured, pulling Flutteringpaw close to her side, close enough that Flutteringpaw had felt the radiating warmth from her mother's pelt seep into her own fur.

 _"Will it find us here?"_ Flutteringpaw remembered asking her mother, turning her wide, frightened kit eyes upward to meet her mother's.

Podflower had smiled kindly, her eyes had glowed faintly in the dim light. _"Yes, dear. We'll be fine. That fox can't get us in here. Besides, the patrol has it under control. They'll be sure that fox is sent far out of WindClan territory. But remember, a wounded fox is an angry fox. And an angry fox, is one of the most dangerous things you'll ever meet."_

Although it had not been the cave in which Flutteringpaw stood, the memories of the night she spent with her mother in the other cave were fresh and wild within her, a burning flame that would never go out.

"Flutteringpaw? Are you alright?" Shyskip's head appeared in the entrance to the den, her eyes worried.

At that moment, the flame within her roared viciously, igniting within her very soul, sending fiery sparks about her.

"No!" Flutteringpaw screamed, grief washing over her. "No! I'm not okay! And I never will be!"

"What do you mean?" Shyskip murmured softly, sliding down into the den and placing her tail-tip on Flutteringpaw's shoulder. "What's worrying you?"

"You promised! You promised she would be okay! You promised she would be with me! You promised!" Eyes clouding with blinding grief, Flutteringpaw pulled away from the tabby she-cat and fled, through the opening, past Sunnyflight, and into the open air of the Gathering Island. Every moment, every memory of that devastating night, two moons ago, rushed back to her as she ran, blinding her vision and sending her into a swirling darkness.

Despite the warmth of the golden sunlight, Flutteringpaw felt the awful, biting wind that had relentlessly plagued her throughout that night. She felt as if her paws had grown wings as she ran without purpose through the dense undergrowth. She leaped onto the Tree Bridge, her claws digging deep into the bark, and gazed across the water to the banks of the lake to the windy moor.

And all her heart longed for, was for those first five moons of her life. That she could relive every second of those carefree days, over and over, endlessly.

* * *

 **Did you like it? Please review telling me what you thought of it! Remember, I love all types of criticism! Also, don't forget to vote on the poll that is on my profile page! It makes me update faster if you do!**


	4. Chapter Two

_The sky had turned to a_ deep scarlet, washing away the soft blue daylight and replacing it with the hard glint of blood-red and lavender. Flutteringpaw's eyes drifted over the dark, rippling waters of the lake and allowed her gaze to rest on the tall, shadowy pines that once housed ShadowClan beneath their branches.

 _There is no more ShadowClan..._

ShadowClan...it was a strange feeling that now tightly grasped her heart in its jaws. A longing for everything that once was, everything that she never learned. After everything ShadowClan had been, everything they had done to WindClan, Flutteringpaw longed for them to once again live and roam among the pines, their shadowy forms slinking through the darkness as they hunted and fought just as they did all those moons ago.

Flutteringpaw dug her claws into the soft, rotting bark of the tree bridge that stretched out beneath her, over the shining silvery waters of the lake that lapped gently against the shore. Although she knew she could do nothing, she could feel, deep within herself, that the Clans had to be restored.

WindClan should once again race across the moors, the wind whistling in their ears and their paws eating up the earth as they ran. She should feel the open sky above her once again, instead of looking upward and feeling trapped beneath the hundreds of thick, towering branches that wove together above her, blotting out the sky.

"There you are!" Flutteringpaw winced at the sound of Risingwish's voice piercing through the silent dusk air as the ginger tom padded out onto the Tree bridge to stand beside the place where she sat, her tail swinging down over the water. "Sunnyflight and Shyskip have been looking everywhere for you. What have you been doing all day?"

"Thinking." Flutteringpaw murmured, refusing to take her eyes from the bleeding sky before her. She could feel Risingwish's amber eyes fixed upon her, almost as if they were staring straight into her soul and reading her deepest thoughts.

Risingwish didn't reply immediately, but instead slowly sat down beside her on the rotting log, his pelt nearly touching hers. They sat in silence, watching as the lake slowly turned to blood with the reflection of the sky above them, then slowly drained to a shimmering misty grey as the sun dipped back behind ShadowClan's trees.

"It's sad. For all the generations it's been here, and now it finally starts to fade."

At first, Flutteringpaw thought Risingwish meant the sun, but she dug her claws deeper into the bark beneath her as she realized he meant the tree bridge. The bark was soft and moist, unlike the bark of the Great Oak, or the healthy trees that grew on the island.

"Risingwish," Flutteringpaw whispered finally. "Did you ever attend a gathering?"

Flutteringpaw knew that the Great Oak had once been the setting of countless gatherings, where cats from every Clan would join together on a night of peace, and share gossip, news, and stories while their Clan leaders announced births or recent ceremonies.

 _How nice it would've been to have had cats of every Clan know of my apprentice ceremony, instead of just the birds and trees on the island._

"Yes, I did. If only I had known it would be my last. I might've valued it more." Risingwish replied, a hint of regret in his voice.

"Maybe it wasn't." Flutteringpaw suggested quietly. "There could be more. We could meet with the other camps at the Moonstone, or on the moor."

"The others would never agree to that. Gatherings are simply a thing of the past, Flutteringpaw. Come on, let's get back to camp." Without another word, the ginger tom rose to his paws and ran lightly across the tree bridge, plunging into the dark bracken that waited on the pebbly shore.

Flutteringpaw hesitated a moment, once again casting her gaze over the far shore.

 _Do you care, StarClan?_

With all her heart, Flutteringpaw wished for an answer. For some sign, some signal, that StarClan was still there, looking down on them, watching over them, guiding their paws long the path they should follow.

 _The Moonpool!_

 _If StarClan is still with us, then I can speak with them at the Moonpool!_

Casting one last glance toward the island, Flutteringpaw turned and raced across the bridge, her paws carrying her to horseplace and the distant moor.

* * *

Flutteringpaw grimaced as the marshy earth seeped between her unsheathed claws, caking uncomfortably between her paw pads. Ahead of her, she could spot the dark form of the horseplace rising from the plains, blocking out the stars of Silverpelt. Beyond that, although not visible in the dark of the night, she knew lay the moor and the Moonpool.

Prying her paw from the wet earth, Flutteringpaw continued slowly forward. Above her, the stars glowed faintly in Silverpelt. But instead of feeling warmth and protection in their shining gaze, she felt only a blank, empty stare. They seemed so, so far away...so distant and shut away from the troubles of the cats that looked up at them from the world below.

Slowly, the earth hardened to a dusty plain with scrubby, brushy plants growing in thick tufts along the way. Flutteringpaw lengthened her stride as she neared the looming, shadowy form of horseplace.

 _I'm almost there! Moonpool, here I come!_

In almost no time at all, Flutteringpaw found herself standing on the open the moor, the wind whistling around her, and the tall moor grass bending and rising with the swell of the wind.

 _This is where I should be._ She thought, digging her claws into the familiar earth beneath her. Without thinking, she pressed her nose to the earth, and inhaled the scent she had come to miss so much: the scent of the wind.

 _Hurry up!_ She scolded herself, quickly looking back up at the shining snowy crescent. It was nearly moonhigh. _I have to hurry to make it back to camp before dawn!_

Although Flutteringpaw had never traveled to the Moonpool herself, she had watched every half moon as WindClan's medicine cats had made their way across the moor to visit the ancient pool. Once, when Quailpaw took her out of camp while his mentor was out collecting herbs, the two had crouched together on the ridge just above the place where the Moonpool lay, as Quailpaw described the silvery, rippling waters of the Moonpool.

Pushing away her thoughts, Flutteringpaw streaked across the moor until she came to the place where she and the young medicine cat apprentice had sat, hardly daring to whisper as they looked down at the cavern that housed the Moonpool. Flutteringpaw could almost picture his mottled grey fur as he explained everything about his first visit to the silvery pool.

 _StarClan?_

Flutteringpaw slipped uncertainly into the dark cavern, only to blink in surprise at the brightness of the moon and stars reflected brightly in the water. The ginger apprentice felt her paws slid into the many pawprints of ancient cats that had come before as she crept up to the glassy surface of the pool. Hardly daring to breathe, Flutteringpaw lowered her muzzle and gently pressed her nose against the icy waters.


End file.
